Community Gardening

There are three critical steps you must take when planning to transform a boulevard:

•  You must read and understand the Boulevard Gardening Guidelines in full. Please reach out to the Food Systems Coordinator at parks@victoria.ca if you have any questions or concerns. 
• Residents must register their boulevard garden address and contact information. 
• Make a BC One Call at 1.800.474.6886 to see if there are any utility lines under the boulevard. Please note, you should always use hand tools only and follow the directions from utility companies. 
   

Boulevards are the grassy strip of land between a property and the street that are owned by the City. The majority of boulevards have grass and trees between the sidewalk and the curb, but some are between the sidewalk and adjacent property line.

Boulevard gardens can create more beautiful, interesting and diverse streets, add character to neighbourhoods and increase community pride. They also provide environmental benefits such as increased ecological diversity and animal habitats. Working on the boulevard can promote community building, calmer traffic and healthier living. Edible plants can also improve the availability of fresh, local and sustainable food sources. 

Boulevard gardens do not require City approval, but the Boulevard Gardening Guidelines must be followed. Property owners are encouraged to share photos and details of their gardens to  withthe Food Systems Coordinator at parks@victoria.ca. 
 

Gardeners are responsible for understanding the liability considerations that accompany taking on a boulevard gardening project. Safety should always be top of mind. Gardeners are responsible for maintaining the garden within the standards set out in the Boulevard Gardening Guidelines. The City may contact gardeners when there are issues with its maintenance and reserves the right to remove plants or materials if the issues are not resolved. Gardeners are responsible for removing the boulevard garden, and all associated costs, when they move or are otherwise unable to continue maintaining it to the standards set out in  the Boulevard Gardening Guidelines.
 

• Food Tree Stewards work with City staff to find a location and create documents that will guide the process, including a tree map and management plan.
• Follow the City's approval process for the proposed project, then work together with City staff to plant the selected food trees in a public green space.
• Commit regular maintenance of the tree sites, including watering, pruning, weeding and harvesting. 
   

If you’re interested in working with your neighbours to support plantings of food trees in backyards,  learn more about the Trees in Cities Challenge. Through the My Great Neighbourhood Grant, there is funding available for groups of residents who want to help grow the urban forest in their own backyards. 

 Consider the applying to create a new community garden. Through this program you can plant food trees, pollinator plants and more. 

Banfield Commons, Fairfield Community Garden, Franklin Green Commons Garden, James Bay New Horizons Pollinator Gardens, Fishermen’s Wharf Park Edible Herb Garden, The Peoples Apothecary Garden, Spring Ridge Commons, Wark Street Commons, Spirit Garden, Rockland Woodland Garden and Urban Learning Garden.

Burnside Allotment Garden, Earthbound Community Garden, Fernwood Allotment Garden, Montreal Street Allotment Garden, Neighbourhood Garden of All Sorts, Orca Gardens, Oswald Community Garden, Summit at Quadra Village Allotment Garden and Yates Street Community Garden. 

Banfield Park Orchard and Fernwood Community Orchard.

•    Commons gardens are maintained by community volunteers and can be harvested by all residents.
•    Allotment gardens have individual garden plots, maintained and harvested by individual gardeners.
•    Community orchards are groves of fruit or nut trees in a public park. Community groups take part in the care, maintenance and harvesting of the trees and share the harvest with the community.
 

•    food plants
•    native and ornamental plants
•    pollinator gardens
•    permaculture projects
•    fruit and nut trees
•    demonstration farming
•    other edible and floral landscapes

The City has created several grants to support establishing and maintaining community gardens, whether they are on public or private land. See Growing in the City Grants for more information.

For smaller projects or placemaking activities in existing gardens, the My Great Neighbourhood Grants can also provide funding if projects meet their eligibility requirements.